E-books Changing Lives and Transforming Communities

In our culture, many take for granted that learning to read and books are a natural part of our schooling and education. It’s expected that books be provided and accessible to help our children develop this priceless life skill.Unfortunately, this isn’t the case globally but Worldreader is well on its way to changing this. Through technology and digital books, the cost and logistical challenges of delivering reading materials to developing regions are greatly reduced, opening access to a huge range of e-books to children in Africa.

“We are developing the systems and the partnerships to get e-readers – and the life-changing, power-creating ideas contained in e-books – into the hands and minds of people in the developing world.”

Founded by David Risher and Colin McElwee, Worldreader not only aspires to improve reading rates by offering books to meet different demands – where local schools prefer local textbooks, children are more engaged with stories familiar to their culture and older readers more interested in literature from around the world, but they are also helping to create a sustainable ecosystem to support reading by providing technical and pedagogical training for local teachers and project managers.

To date, Worldreader has distributed over 75,000 e-books wirelessly to children in Ghana, Kenya and Uganda, empowering them, their families and communities with ideas to change their world.

If you want to get involved, there are many ways you can, from organizing a read-a-thon fundraiser on behalf of Worldreader, or donating the use of your short story or e-book to the program, to simply spreading the word, click here and here for more!